


Something in the Way

by idiotchosen (Seira_g)



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Gen, Kratos route spoilers, everyone else is technically there too I guess, it's just angst, nothing else to see here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 13:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11487723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seira_g/pseuds/idiotchosen
Summary: Lloyd and the others didn't have to win the fight in the Tower of Salvation. Zelos's reflections after a betrayal that was far too successful.





	Something in the Way

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know, it was 10 PM, I felt like writing, and I wanted to make Zelos cry. This is barely long enough to qualify as a real fic, but here you go.

            At last, it was over. _Everything_ was over.

            As soon as Zelos pulled the blade from his _friend’s_ chest, dyeing it an even deeper shade of crimson than it had been at the start of their battle, he knew that they were done fighting. The large chamber of the Tower of Salvation had gone eerily silent. It was hard to believe that, only moments ago, the air had been filled with the chanting of incantations for powerful magic and the harsh sound of swords clashing with swords. Now, all that remained were droplets of blood sliding from his dagger, splashing against the floor one by one.

            Zelos wasn’t sure whether he wanted to laugh, scream, or vomit.

            From the beginning of their journey—rather, from the moment Mithos had made him that offer he could never dream of refusing—Zelos had known things would end in one of two ways. He was going to lose his status as the Chosen, or he was going to die trying. It had never mattered to him which of those paths he took.

            But then he had gotten to know Lloyd Irving.

            Lloyd, that stupid, naïve, and hopeful idealist, who had clung to his dreams of saving everybody until the very end.

            _He was a liar._

Lloyd, whose last words had nearly pulled Zelos back from the abyss.

            _Everything he said up until this morning…_

Lloyd, who he had nearly come to care for more than anyone else in either world.

            _It must have been a lie._

            Lloyd, who was lying, motionless, face-up in a pool of his own blood.

            _I trusted him. Even if he didn’t trust me._

            For a short time, Zelos had started to believe in all those optimistic claims the boy made, despite his efforts to stay true to his original goal. He had started to wonder if maybe, _just maybe_ , there was a way to help everyone, not just himself. He was prepared to go against every instinct that told him to run, to pick what he knew had to be the strongest side.                                           

            He wished, from the bottom of his heart, that Lloyd had seen it the same way.

            _“Can I really trust you, Zelos?”_

            With that single sentence, those hopes had been crushed into dust, and he knew he couldn’t waver anymore. He had to complete the task he had been given, even if it killed him.

            _Especially_ if it killed him.

And as far as Zelos knew, his job was over. He had stopped Lloyd’s group in their tracks, stabbed them in the back both literally and figuratively. Now all that was left was for Cruxis to follow through on their end of the bargain, and he would be free.

            So why wasn’t he happy?

            Whether it was the physical strain from the battle or an emotional reaction he wasn’t sure, but something drained him of the last of his strength, and he fell to his knees, inches from Lloyd’s body.

           He knew exactly what the other members of the party had thought of him. Sheena thought he was disgusting. Genis thought he was obnoxious. Raine thought he was immature. And so on, and so forth. And that was fine. He had come to terms with that long ago. But in the end, he realized, he had never really known what Lloyd thought. For someone who was so honest with themselves and their own emotions, he had been surprisingly hard to read in that respect.

 Even if it had only been for a short time, Zelos thought he had come to regard Lloyd as a friend, or maybe something more than that. He had gathered up his courage and knocked on the door to his room back in Flanoir, deciding that if anyone would listen to his story, it would be him.

But as he should have known, reality was never that kind.

_“…Sorry.”_ With that single word, Zelos knew he had found his answer, even if it wasn’t the one he had been hoping for. And when he had happened to spot him on a balcony with Kratos only moments later, he knew that, in the end, there really were only two paths for him to take. As much as Lloyd liked to talk, there was no third option, and now, there never would be.

He knew that, but he still couldn’t stop the tears from leaving his eyes.

Zelos didn’t know how much time he spent sitting there, but he knew it was probably far too long. He knew Pronyma and Mithos were both waiting for him to report his victory. Vaguely, he wondered if they had done anything with Colette yet. He knew it was hypocritical of him to hope for her safety, but… somewhere, in the back of his mind, he wished that he could do something for his Sylvarant counterpart, if nothing else.

Zelos prepared himself for the next step, but first, he took one last look at Lloyd’s face, still twisted by the pain he felt in his final moments. An indescribable feeling took hold of him, and he stood quickly, suddenly needing to get away as quickly as possible. He didn’t have time to feel any guilt. That could come later, much later.

Feeling the need to say one more thing before continuing on, he found himself mirroring what Lloyd had told him the night before.

“…Sorry.”

           

                     

           


End file.
